Kiem Do, a native of Hanoi, was a captain in the South Vietnamese Navy and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations when Saigon fell in 1975. During his twenty-one years in the Navy, he served as District Commander, Chief of Staff of the Mobile Riverine Force, and Commandant of the Vietnamese Midshipman's School.
After settling in the United States after receiving political asylum, he taught high school math and science, studied in the MBA program at the University of New Orleans, and worked as a cost engineer with a Louisiana utility company for more than twenty years.
Since retirement in 1997, he has been active as a leader in the New Orleans Vietnamese community and has lectured frequently on the Vietnam War at local universities and before veteran groups. He and his wife of thirty-nine years Thom Le Do, have five children, and six American-born grandchildren.
Kiem Do and Julie Kane wrote a book in May 1998 titled "Counterpart:A South Vietnamese Naval Officer's War".